Hello 

Create Profile

Creating your profile will enable you to submit photos and stories to get published on News24.


Please provide a username for your profile page:

This username must be unique, cannot be edited and will be used in the URL to your profile page across the entire 24.com network.

Settings

Location Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location. If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to take affect.









Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.

 
 

Has De Villiers got it right?

2008-07-11 09:29
line

Tank Lanning

Cape Town - South African record point scorer Percy Montgomery returns at fullback in place of Conrad Jantjes, who heads to the bench. JP Pietersen is preferred on the right wing to Odwa Ndungane, who drops out of the 22. Bismarck du Plessis replaces injured captain John Smit and Victor Matfield will captain the Springboks on Saturday at the House of Pain in Dunedin. The other change is on the bench where Ruan Pienaar replaces Bolla Conradie

And no change at 8th man or in the front row? Amazed, and appalled, I am...

It is good to see Montgomery back in the side as I think the Boks need his experience and confidence. But to do it at the expense of a man like Jantjes, who has not really put a foot wrong, is quite baffling. Surely it would have made more sense to have moved Jantjes to the wing in place of Ndungane, who definitely had to go? Instead in comes Pietersen, who, according to coach, Peter de Villiers, was in need of conditioning at the beginning of the international season. More like form finding in my book. And given that he has had one Currie Cup game to find that form or conditioning, and it was apparent to all who saw the game that both were still missing, it is beyond comprehension to believe that this is the player that the Bok coach is looking to for backline solutions!

And to leave Joe van Niekerk at No 8, while the likes of Pierre Spies and Ryan Kankowski take in the sights and sounds of Dunedin in their Billabong "casuals" is bordering on the criminal. Call the police people, this coach might need to be put away! Or at least get the man a few recordings of the Sharks and Bulls final Super 14 games...

And forward coach, Gary Gold, can go on as long as he likes about the effectives of the scrum being based on how you get the ball away from it, but he is living in dreamland. It is how you perform come scrum time that determines the effectiveness of the ball you get from the scrum. If you get the ball, that is! Even the boys I saw playing Craven Week rugby in Pretoria this week know that!

And the bottom line is that we took strain in the scrums last week. If it was because CJ had flu in the week leading up to the Test, then say that. But do not try and defend the Bok scrum. Word on the street is that it is because CJ is suffering a neck injury that has weakened his right arm sufficiently enough to effect his right arm strength - the arm he binds with. But that is just rumour, and I hope he turns his game around this week. I would have liked to have seen the "Beast" take his place at loosehead instead of Gurthro Steenkamp, but I also cannot fault a coaching team that wants to give the same two props another crack.

Either way, I am not very confident, though. Smit is a monumental loss to this Bok scrum. Not only is he the man keeping this side together as a captain, but he is a tremendously strong scrummager. Bismarck is an excellent hooker who does an enormous amount of work round the field, but he is no Smit when it comes to pure scrummaging. I am afraid we are going to see more drama up front...

But this is just my take on the selection. We want to get South Africa's opinion, so in continuation with our relatively new Sport24 tradition, we open the "Great Friday Debate" by asking you to post your comments below. Who knows, De Villiers might even read them...

  • Your thoughts?

    Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.

  • Comment on this story
    50 comments
    Comments have been closed for this article.

    inside news24

     
    1 of 10

    140
    1
     
    Traffic
    Lottery
     
    • Friday Carletonville - 10:01 AM
      Road name: N14
      ROAD CLOSED due to a large sink-hole between the two Carletonville exits - traffic is diverted onto a local bypass route
    • Sunday Volksrust - 07:33 AM
      Road name: N11 Both Ways
      Stop / go controls for construction works at Majuba Pass - expect delays between Volksrust and Newcastle
    • Monday Centurion - 15:41 PM
      Road name: Jean Avenue
      ROAD CLOSED between Rabie Street and Gerhard Street for sink hole repair works
     
    More traffic reports...
     

    Jobs [change area]

    Cars[change area]

    HYUNDAI

    Atos 1.1 Prime GLS 5-dr MY07
    2006
    R 54,990.00

    VOLKSWAGEN

    Polo Vivo 1.6 Base 5-dr
    2011
    R 129,500.00

    BMW

    320i E90 MY07
    2008
    R 144,995.00

    Property [change area]

    Travel - Look, Book, Go!

    Romance at the President

    Spend two nights at the Protea Hotel President in Cape Town from R2601 per person sharing. Includes return flights, taxes, car hire and accommodation. Book Now!

    Kalahari.com - shop online today

    The Big Mama Sale

    The Big Mama Sale is now on. Get up to 80% off Books, Music, DVDs, Games, Electronics, Toys & Gifts. Shop now.

    Electronics on Sale

    Up to 80% off electronics + 24hr delivery. Shop now.

    50% Off Educo toys

    Join the Big Mama Sale madness at kalahari.com and get 50% off all Educo toys for your kids. Terms and conditions apply. Shop now.

    Books on Sale

    Up to 80% off books & 1000s Of books to choose from. First come, first served. While stocks last. Shop now.

    Blu-ray special offer

    Buy 10 blu-rays and get a free Sony blu-ray player. Offer valid while stocks last. Shop now.

    OLX Free Classifieds [change area]

    Drain & Pipe Inspection System

    For Sale, Garage Sale in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date January 21

    2011 Mazda 2 1.5 Dynamic

    Vehicles, Cars in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date January 22

    Estimator

    Jobs, Engineering Jobs - Architecture Jobs in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date January 21

    The Big Mama Sale

    The Big Mama Sale is now on. Get up to 80% off Books, Music, DVDs, Games, Electronics, Toys & Gifts. Shop now.

    Visit www.kalahari.com for millions of books, music, DVDs, games & more!

    BlackBerry Torch 9810

    The BlackBerry Torch 9810 gives you the powerful combination of...

    From R4599.00

    I'm shopping for:

    A local community where you can meet people, upload photos, videos and loads more...
    There are new stories on the homepage. Click here to see them.